Thermal back part conditioner for shoe uppers



Sept. 3, 1963 A. vw. cLossoN, JR 3,102,283 l THERMAL BACK PART CONDITIONER FOR SHOE UPPERS INVENTOR.

Sept. 3, 1963 Filed Sept. 1l,

A. W. CLOSSON, JR

THERMAL BACK PART CONDITIONER FOR SHOE UPPERS BY Mwr 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

count/ FIG. `l is a View of the no2-,28s, y "L BACK PART CONDITIONER o `Addison Clossoinlflr.,` Cambridge, Mass., assigner to Beckwith-Arden Inc., .Watertowml Mass., acorporai tion of New Hampshire` o Filed Sept. 11,1961, Ser. No. 137,393

6 Claims. (CL 12v-59.7)

This invention `comprises new and improved apparashoeupper while on the last so that it may be given the molded contour of the l-astgdirectly kfrom the last'without requiring an intermediate molding operation.l

It is, of course, desir-'ableffor many reasons `toobin the back part of a shoe.

skill and experience, `and nally the moldedfcounter, even ifproperly placed, is likely to preventy the upper-trom making perfect" contact with the lashparticularly about the margin ofthe heel seat. l

y An. object of the present invention isito provide apparatu's `for vsoftening and rendering `adhesive `or `conditioning on the last 'an upper that hasalready been assembled'with United Smm@ *O1 ice Patented Sept.. 3, 1963 i wardly and inwardly toward its longitudinal axis of -curva? tus yfor conditioning by heat the back or counter part of a f a `plyjof `therxnoplasticy sheet materiales apart of the counter lining oran interleaved blank.` o v j" TI have discovered that by proper conditioning of the 1 back part of an upper so prepared thetdesired molded vshape may beachieved `by immediately pulling over and lasting kthe heel seat end ofthe shoe `upon the last, The

` whole counter portion of vthe ,heated upper is thus con'- for-med directly 'tothessurface ofthe last and stiitens in the molded shape thus acquired without Isupplementary .por intermediate molding operations.l o f i The herein described `apparatus includes an underlying vsteam chamber 'and an overhead casing presenting yfor-A wardly opening hoods, a"rearwardlyinclined forepa-rtl supporting plate and means for supporting the rear en d of an upper-'carrying last with the entire'counter portion y `of the upper' enclosed and subjected "tolheat from the steam chamber. y o l Preferably and as'herein'shown the overhead casing is constructed rand arranged tossupport theassembled upper upo'nthe last in inverted position sincethe'upper is thus "most eiiectively exposedto. a rising current ofrsuperheated o steam or other ,heatingmedium i copious upper Jdow of superheated ture. The partition is supported at its sides byyangle irons secured to thewalls of the steam chamber. Above the partition is located an electric heating unit v13 cono trolledV from a switch box secured to the left end` of the @steam chamber `as shownfin FIGS. l land 2. The heating v unit may take the yform of a tubular infra-red lamp as described for" example in United States Patent2,970,33l Gaquin.

Above Athe steam chamber and telescopically ftte'd'intov i its upper portion is an overlyingI superstructure 14 forming a long closed chamber supportedby intur-ned anges resting upon the side edges of the partition 12 as shown in FIG. 3. ,The front wall of the superstructure carries a f rearwardly and downwardly inclined plate 16 for supf porting the forepart of'an upper-carrying last. The Isuperstructure also includes a'series of U-shaped forwardly opening hoods 15 which extend forwardly over about one-half the area of the supporting plate 16 and lopen -freely into the under-lying steam chamber. The plate 16 extends continuously and serves the entire Arow of hoods 15.- A transverse rod 17 crosses the open space beneath each hood in position to engage and support the rear'end of the last or the upper assembledV thereon. The rods 17jare'of small diameter and `do not interfere with a steam from the underlying steam chamber. 7 .Y y

. In FIG. 3 the upper-carrying last is; shown as located within a hood 15 in upright position with its forepart resting upon the plate 16 and its entire back part enclosed within the hood 15 and supported by spot contact with therod17.` l y In FIGS. 5 and 6 thesuperstructure of the apparatus Ais shown 'as slightlymodied to receive the upper-carrying last in inverted position. This has proved to be particularly eiective'inV conditioning'the counter portion of `more directly exposed to the rising body ofsuperheated steam required for conditioning the upper. In this modi- Y viication of the apparatus the hoods 15 and rods 17 remainthe Isame but the inclinedv supporting plate 20 is recessed or notched at Z1 toV receive the projecting instep vThese and other. features of the invention will be best i understood and appreciatedjfrom the following description off a preferred embodiment .thereof selected for pur poses of illustration-and shown in `the accompanying drawings in which: v. o i 4 yapparatus in front elevation, FIG. 2 is a plan view, i

o -r FIG. `3 is a sectionalviewon theline of FIG. l y i FIG. `4 is a view'inperspeetive of a portion of the overheadvcasing, y A

i FIG. 5 is a sectional viewillustrating a modilied -form `of the overhead casinggjand y p p o.

' FIG. 6 is a viewzin perspective off a porticnoofr the modi-` lied casing.

Ther-conditioning apparatus herein shown is constructed vof` sheet metal -andfcornprises walls forming the elongated under-lying steam chamber lltthrough which passes aperlforated steam pipe 11 inclined to an outlet elbow atv one end of the chamber; s The upper portion of the chamber contains a perforated, horizontal .partition `12. :It may.

portion of the last. The back cone part of the last is thus ,supported partly by line contact with one of the rods 17 and partly by wedgingengagement'of its instep portion in a tapering recess k2i of the supporting plate 20. l The process in which the illustrated apparatus is` em- Y ployed may `be characterized lby the steps of placing a 'thermoplastic blank in the counter pocket of an upper,

assembling the upper on the last, heating the whole eounterportion of the upper while upon fthe last, pulling over the heated upper and thus forming its whole .back part to the contour of the last; When this has been done 'the upper is allowed to cool and stiiien upon` the last, although it is desirable to have the heel seat lastingoperation immediately lfollow the pulling over step if possible.

Thermoplastic sheet material vsuitable for carrying out the above process is commercially y'available in several forms, `for. example, that disclosed in UnitedStates Patents No.2,v6ll,726 September 23, 1952 Harrison; No. 2,619,- 441November 25, 1952 yLevy `and No. 2,390,347 December V4, 1945 Beckwith and Swett.

.-13 has been ffound particularly effective and desirable H The infrared energy supplied by the quartz lamp tube for both superheating the rising steam and heating the be flat `or I'as herein shown transversely concave so that A` o in -generalsteam passing `through it will be directed up-` f material of the upper on the last, -althou gh the precise form of the heater is of secondary importance.

In "some cases it has been fou-nddesirable to curtain the `opening of the hoods 15-'1as suggested in FIG. 6 by hanging a strip of textile material y18 over their upper 3 portions. The upper-carrying lasts may be inserted beneath this strip while the strip acts to hold the rising steam in contact with the upper.

Having thus disclosed my invention and described in detail an illustrative embodiment thereof, I claim as new and desire to secure by letters Patent:

1. Counter conditioning apparatus for unlasted shoes, comprising an underlying steam chamber having an electric heater extending through its upper portion, and an overhead casing including a series of forwardly-opening U-shaped hoods, a rearwardly and downwardly inclined forepart supporting plate extending continuously and serving all said hoods, and a transverse rod below each hood for supporting by point contact the heel end of a last with the counter portion of an assembled upper thereon in a position above the said electric heater.

2. Counter conditioning apparatus as described in claim 1, further characterized in that the means for supporting the rear end =of the upper-carrying last comprises a rod making only line contact with the last and so exposing the entire counter portion of the upper to steam rising from the steam chamber.

3. Counter conditioning apparatus for unlasted shoes, comprising an underlying steam chamber and an overhead casing including forwardly opening hoods in communication with the steam chamber, a back cone-supporting rod for the last above the steam chamber and beneath each hood, and an inclined plate fronting the hoods and recessed to receive the instep portion of the last and hold it in inverted position with an upper assembled thereon.

4. Counter conditioning apparatus for uppers assembled with a thermoplastic component, comprising an underlying steam chamber, rneans for supporting by point contact an upper-carrying last in inverted position above the 4 steam chamber, a'hood projecting into free space, enclosing the Whole rear part of the lasted upper and disposed lin free communication with the steam chamber, and a -source of infra-red energy located in position both to superheat steam rising from said steam chamber and heat the counter portion of the upper on the last.

5. Counter conditioning apparatus as described in claim 4, further characterized in that the yopening of the hood is partially curtained by a textile sheet under which the inverted last may be inserted.

6. Apparatus for heat-conditioning the counter portion of an upper on a last, comprising an elongated underlying `steam chamber of sheet metal having an electric heater in its upper portion, and an overhead casing including a series of forwardly-opening U-shaped hoods communicating with said steam chamber, a rod located below each hood for supporting by point contact the rear end of an upper-carrying last in a position freely cxposed to steam rising from the underlying steam chamber, and means cooperating with said rod for supporting the forepart of the upper-carrying last in a rearwardly and downwardly sloping position with the counter portion of the upper located above the electric heater.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,130,374 Carlson et al. Mar. 2, 1915 1,217,360 Stocker Feb. 27, 1917 1,753,705 Jennings Apr. 8, 1930 1,876,055 Jennings et al. Sept. 6, 1932 2,249,760 Harrison et al. July 22, 1941 2,460,940 Maeser Feb. 8, 1949 2,970,331 Gaquin Feb. 7, 1961 

6. APPARATUS FOR HEAT-CONDITIONING THE COUNTER PORTION OF AN UPPER ON A LAST, COMPRISING AN ELONGATED UNDERLYING STEAM CHAMBER OF SHEET METAL HAVING AN ELECTRIC HEATER IN ITS UPPER PORTION, AND AN OVERHEAD CASING INCLUDING A SERIES OF FORWARDLY-OPENING U-SHAPED HOODS COMMUNICATING WITH SAID STEAM CHAMBER, A ROD LOCATED BELOW EACH HOOD FOR SUPPORTING BY POINT CONTACT THE REAR END OF AN UPPER-CARRYING LAST IN A POSITION FREELY EXPOSED TO STEAM RISING FROM THE UNDERLYING STEAM CHAM- 